BACH & VIVALDI

Cantatas and Concertos

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

1685-1750

Tail end of the Baroque

era

Musical Family (for

generations)

Orphaned by age 9

Raised by elder brother

Devout Lutheran

Married twice• Maria Barbara Bach (cousin)

Died of unknown causes

• Anna Magdalena

Died in poverty 10 years after Bach

Of 20 children, only 10 survived to adulthood, one with severe disabilitiesLived entire life in 200-mile radius

PERSONAL LIFE

HIS WORK

• Almost half of his compositions have been lost

• Hundreds of

Cantatas

• Entire works have been cataloged using a BWV code number (1100 +)

From Italian cantare: to singA choral/vocal composition with instrumental accompaniment

Sacred or secular

Multiple movements/sectionsCan include solos, duets, and full choir

WHAT’S A CANTATA?Thomaskirche,

Leipzig Characteristics

CHORALES:THE ANTI-PLAINCHANT

CHORALE-TUNES• Strong folk and

secular influence on church music

• The Lutheran musical tradition broke away from the Catholic plainchant tradition

• Dance meters and forms set newly written texts

• The congregation would have recognized the chorale tunes

CONCERTO

Some say the word Concerto means “fight” from a Latin

root, referring to the competing roles of the soloist(s) and

orchestra

An instrumental form, which helped solidify the emerging

importance of both secular instrumental music

Most concertos are composed in 3 separate movements• Fast• Slow• Fast

TO CLAP OR NOT TO CLAP?

Generally, you only

clap at the end of the

LAST movement or

section

Most common practice

era pieces are in 3 or 4

movements

Group(s) of instruments vs. orchestra (gang fight)

Championed by Corelli, Torelli, & Händel

Later overtaken by solo concertos

Soloist(s) vs. orchestra

(David vs. Goliath)

Often include Cadenza• Short improvisatory solo

section near the end of 1st movement

Variations:• Double Concerto• Triple Concerto

TYPES OF CONCERTOS

Concerto Grosso Concerto

ANTONIO VIVALDI

1678-1741 (high Baroque)

Father was violinist

Learned violin at an early age

“Red Priest” ordained at age

25Worked as a music teacher in an Venetian orphanage

Wrote over 500 Concertos

Died in poverty (Vienna)

WINTER, FROM:THE FOUR SEASONS

• Each season is actually a violin concerto

• Composed in 1723• Each concerto tries

to depict the mood of a season

• Text painting without text! Excellent example of “Doctrine of Affections”